The Face Behind the Mask (1941 film)

The Face Behind the Mask is a 1941 American Film Noir directed by Robert Florey and starring Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes and Don Beddoe. The screenplay was adapted by Paul Jarrico, Arthur Levinson, and Allen Vincent from the play Interim, written by Thomas Edward O'Connell (1915–1961).

Plot

Janos Szabo (Peter Lorre) is a hopeful new Hungarian immigrant who, on his first day in New York City, is trapped in a hotel fire that leaves his face hideously scarred. He is refused employment due to his appearance and, though possessing tremendous skill as a watchmaker, is willing to do any work. In extreme poverty, and despite believing that dishonesty can never bring happiness, he resorts to safecracking to obtain food, medicine, and a warm bed for his only friend, Dinky (George E. Stone). Eventually he becomes the leader of a gang of thieves and raises money to commission and wear a realistic latex mask of his own face.

Janos then falls in love with Helen (Evelyn Keyes), a blind woman who perceives only the good in him, and attempts to leave his life of crime behind him. Unfortunately, his gang come to believe that he has betrayed them to the police, and attempt to kill him by car bomb, an attempt on his life that he survives but which kills Helen. In retaliation, Janos disguises himself as the pilot of the private plane in which the gang plans to fly out of the country. He lands the plane in the Arizona desert and lets out the fuel, suicidally stranding both the gang and himself without food or water, dooming them all to a slow death. At the film's end, Janos's body and those of his enemies are discovered by the police.

Cast

• Peter Lorre as Janos "Johnny" Szabo
• Evelyn Keyes as Helen Williams
• Don Beddoe as Lt. Jim O'Hara
• George E. Stone as Dinky
• John Tyrrell as Watts
• Stanley Brown as Harry
• Cy Schindell as Benson (as Al Seymour)
• James Seay as Jeff Jeffries
• Warren Ashe as Johnson, Reporter
• Charles C. Wilson as Chief O'Brien (as Charles Wilson)
• George McKay as Terry Finnegan

Production

The Face Behind the Mask was directed by French-American director Robert Florey,Template:Sfn and written by Paul Jarrico, and Allen Vincent.Template:Sfn The film is based on the radio play The Interim by Thomas Edward O'Connell.Template:Sfn Florey previously made contributions to Universal Pictures' 1931 film Frankenstein before James Whale was brought on as director, and he had directed Murders in the Rue Morgue.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The film's script was specifically written with Peter Lorre in mind for the film's lead role,Template:Sfn with parallels to Lorre's own life,Template:Sfn as co-writer Jarrico recalled "The script was 'tailored', as I recall, in a sense Lorre had already been cast."Template:Sfn Lorre was cast in the film's lead role of Janos "Johnny" Szabo as the first of a two-picture deal that he was contracted to make for Columbia Pictures.Template:Sfn Evelyn Keyes, who had played Suellen O'Hara in Victor Fleming's Gone with the Wind,Template:Sfn was cast as Janos' love interest Helen Williams. Actors Don Beddoe, George E. Stone, John Tyrrell, and Cy Schindell were cast in secondary roles for the film. Tyrell and Schindell were both regulars at Columbia Pictures and were well known for starring in the studio's Three Stooges short films.Template:Sfn

Principal photography began on November 6, 1940, lasting for 20 days.Template:Sfn

Release

Theatrical release

The Face Behind the Mask premiered on January 16, 1941, in the United States before going into general release nationwide. It opened in London on May 26, 1941, followed by a release in Mexico on July 4, 1941, and in Montreal, Canada on October 4, 1941. In occupied France, the film was screened in the Free Zone on October 16, 1942, and it later reached Austrian audiences on January 1, 1946. The film had its German television premiere on September 27, 1977.

By 1958, the movie was included in Columbia Pictures’ Son of Shock television package, which circulated the film alongside other horror and crime titles from the studio's library. While it remained largely unavailable on home video for many years, the film received a region-free Blu-ray release in mid-2021 through Imprint Records (Viavision). This edition included special features such as an audio commentary by film historian Alan K. Rode, offering contemporary audiences insight into Peter Lorre's performance and the film's production.

Reception

Template:Expand section The Face Behind the Mask was poorly received during its initial release. In its 1941 review of the film, The New York Times was critical of the film, writing "Despite a certain pretentiousness toward things psychological, The Face Behind the Mask may safely be set down as just another bald melodramatic exercise in which the talents of Peter Lorre again are stymied by hackneyed dialogue and conventional plot manipulations."Template:Sfn

Later reviews of the film have been more positive. Blockbuster Inc.'s Guide to Movies and Videos rated the film three out of four stars, praising the film's direction, premise, and performances.Template:Sfn Leonard Maltin awarded the film three out of a possible four stars, calling the film "Extremely well done on slim budget".Template:Sfn Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' World Movie Reviews gave the film a "B+" on an A+ to F scale, calling it "a horror story in that it offers a vision of the American Dream turning ugly and wrong."Template:Sfn TV Guide rated the film two out of four stars, calling it "A stylish film about human suffering".Template:Sfn

Sources

Books

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External links

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• Online article from Turner Classic Movies